We're here! It's still hard to believe; I keep pinching myself. So many thoughts, dreams, details, joys and frustrations are swirling through my brain. Before the trip one of my biggest sources of anxiety was not having a real project on my plate after we arrived. I kept picturing Doug busily working away while I twiddled my thumbs.
But God must have been tired of my whining, for He answered this prayer request even as we approached Pietermaritzburg (PMB) for the first time. Ross, the president of the new seminary, and his lovely, bubbly, energetic wife, Shayne, were narrating our journey from Durban's airport to our new city. I was interjecting questions and exclamations about the native flora whizzing past us. As we all chatted Doug and I discovered that our anticipated domicile, Flat #10 in student married housing apartments had morphed into a REAL HOUSE with a REAL YARD! Shock of shocks and delights of delights. The more Shayne described our home to me, the more I was silently thanking God for His good and gracious gifts. I used to joke the I wanted to be a yard gal when I retired, and now, I was to have dirt to play in! This was beyond my wildest dreams! I started peppering Shayne with questions about what grows here and what is currently blooming, when Ross suddenly asked if gardening was a passion of mine… "You could say that!"
It seems the seminary has several garden spaces planned, as Ross explained. I was immediately sucked in and blurted out, "I would love to help!" The best part is the proposed vegetable garden, to supply the seminary's canteen (cafeteria), as well as train the seminarians in several different gardening methods used in poverty-stricken areas. There are to be two other components of the garden space; all three will tie together to sustain God's community in body, mind, and spirit. (HA - just like Faith Community Nursing does!) Ross recounted how he had been struggling to find someone to head up the garden project. "I think God has just answered another prayer and dropped you into that spot!"
I couldn't have been more thrilled! I still have goosebumps, but probably the temperature has more to do with that. Yesterday I worked on the beginnings of my experimental "door frame garden", using a small area off the patio. This method nourishes the available soil with a layer of compost materials, followed by a layer of newspaper, and topped off with the indigenous soil broken up to a finer texture to cradle the seeds. PMB soil reminds me of that carol, "In the deep mid-winter…Earth stood hard as iron…" PMB sits on a deep layer of shale. The dirt is red-tan, very shallow, and stains everything. Unfortunately I was wearing my only tennis shoes. They are trashed, not to mention my socks. As per usual, we learn by doing. It took me five hours of hard labor, using a pitch fork, sharp spade, plus lots of sweat, to dig up a 5'x2' area. Yes, I was wearing my sun hat and sun block. I still have serious roots to hack saw through before I can begin the layering process. Now, I can't wait to get to a nursery to select my seeds, or pips, as we say here. My hands are a wreck, not to mention my aching back, but I have a smile on my face.
God is good, all the time. Here Doug and I sit, huddled in a shared blanket, listening to African music on our new (well, everything we have here is necessarily new) radio/CD player, thanks to an international adaptor plugged into this crazy 3-pronged outlet. (Of course, some plugs have 3 prongs, some 2 prongs, but in different sizes.) We are looking forward to Skyping with our family and have memorized the well wishes inscribed on the rendering of our church, a gift from our choir. Our evening activity is playing Bananagrams. (Thanks, Mary Webb.) We are a world away from you, but with the push of a button, our greetings and love for you can zip through space in a flash. It reminds me of our access to our loving Father with whom we can chat even more simply, no buttons necessary. May His grace and peace settle on you all tonight. He's got the whole world in His hands.
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